Insurer Startups Defy Forecasts, Gain Patient Market Share

(Bloomberg) -- In Maine, the insurer that has enrolled the most Obamacare customers isnt the states well- established Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, owned by WellPoint Inc. Its WellPoints only rival: Maine Community Health Options, a startup that didnt exist three years ago.

The newcomer, funded primarily by taxpayer money lent under the U.S. health-care law, has won about 80 percent of the market so far in Maines new insurance exchange, exceeding its own expectations, said Kevin Lewis, the chief executive officer.